GE Healthcare, Australian government further research into Alzheimer’s

21st June 2012

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GE Healthcare has announced a collaboration with Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) involving its investigational PET imaging agent [18F flutemetamol].

Under the CSIRO agreement, GE Healthcare will provide its investigational imaging agent to the Australian governmental agency for use in the Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL), which seeks to discover which biomarkers, cognitive characteristics, and health and lifestyle factors may determine subsequent development of symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

“This collaboration is a part of our ongoing effort to understand and help identify Alzheimer’s disease and the effects of beta amyloid in the brain,” said Pascale Witz, CEO of GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics. “This is one of the most significant and expansive studies on the aging population and we are proud to be a part of it.”

“Beta amyloid plays a fundamental role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Christopher Rowe, lead investigator for imaging in the AIBL study. “It is critical that we are able to identify subjects with beta amyloid accumulation so that we are able to study its effects on the brain, but specifically its effects on subjects with no or very mild symptoms. GE Healthcare’s involvement in AIBL means that we are able to extend the cohort that gets this type of test.”

GE Healthcare is also partnering with pharma to identify a biosignature, or a biological indicator, which may help physicians diagnose Alzheimer’s disease prior to the onset of clinical symptoms.

The company has also been a key contributor to the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) since its inception. GE Healthcare also plays a key role in PredictAD, an EU-funded research project to develop solutions to enable earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, and the Coalition Against Major Diseases (CAMD).